November 8, 2021
.NET 6 LTS released
MicrosoftThe software giant behind Windows, Office, Azure, and Xbox — founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. shipped .NET 6A cross-platform .NET release — unified runtime for Linux, macOS, and Windows in 2021. on November 8, 2021 — a long-term support release unifying mobile, cloud, and desktop with minimal APIs and hot reload.
What it was for
.NET 6A cross-platform .NET release — unified runtime for Linux, macOS, and Windows in 2021. succeeded .NET 5 as the modern default: MAUI for mobile/desktop, Blazor for web, and performance gains across the stack. LTSLong-term support — a release branch maintained with security fixes for years, common in Linux and Node. status through 2024 made it the enterprise migration target after .NET FrameworkMicrosoft's original managed runtime for Windows — CLR, BCL, and WinForms/ASP.NET stacks.'s sunset.
Companies
- Microsoft
Why it's here
.NET 6A cross-platform .NET release — unified runtime for Linux, macOS, and Windows in 2021. was the first LTSLong-term support — a release branch maintained with security fixes for years, common in Linux and Node. after the unified .NET branding settled.
Why it mattered
One SDKSoftware development kit — tools and libraries for building software on a platform. for cloud, mobile, and desktop reduced platform fragmentation.
What it solved
TeamsMicrosoft Teams — chat, video calls, and Office integration for workplace collaboration. hesitated on .NET 5 without LTSLong-term support — a release branch maintained with security fixes for years, common in Linux and Node. guarantees for production workloads.
Media
- Image.NET
Microsoft, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Related
- .NET 5 releasedNovember 10, 2020
- .NET Core 1.0 releasedJune 27, 2016